July 25, 2009

During the season, Mark Buehrle used his change-up about 15-20% of the time. In yesterday’s perfect game, it was his go-to pitch, particularly against right-handed batters, who saw 40 change-ups out of 90 pitches. He notched 15 outs with the change, seven with the four-seam fastball, and five with the cut fastball. In the last three innings, he went even more heavily to the change-up, throwing 24 changes compared to 18 pitches of all other types combined. This while he was ramping his fastball speed from the mid-eighties to the upper eighties, touching 90 mph with his final pitch. …

The White Sox haven’t minded speculation about their involvement, but sources close to the Blue Jays aren’t hearing them mentioned. The Cardinals and Brewers are involved but don’t have as much to offer as the Phillies, Dodgers and Red Sox.

John Danks passed his final test to start Monday night at Minnesota, showing only a slightly discolored tip of his left index finger. Danks said he was never worried that the circulatory problems in his finger were a major concern, but the White Sox’s left-hander said he has been trying to give up chewing tobacco for the past two weeks. …

The Intimidators will welcome in yet another Major Leaguer this weekend, as two-time All-Star Freddy Garcia will join Kannapolis on Sunday to make a rehab start. Garcia is scheduled to take the mound for Sunday’s 5:05 p.m. game with the Rome Braves at Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium. …

However, there are several key tenets applicable to each hitter, Smith insists. First, a batter should not “load” by swaying his weight onto his back leg, but by turning his front shoulder inward. It is vitally important, Smith insists, that a hitter not sway from back to front when swinging but instead “turn around the center of your body. Balance is also a critical component. Smith believes that each hitter should center his weight on the arches of his feet. Shifting weight onto the toes or heels causes a subtle loss of balance. Smith stated that the ideal swing is a slight uppercut, not the downward hack taught by most youth coaches. The uppercut keeps a hitters swing on plane with the incoming pitch, and permits the hitter at contact to create backspin on his drives. “You want to square the pitch up by hitting the bottom of the ball with the bottom of the bat” Smith said. Williams imparted that idea to Smith, who later relayed that knowledge to Mike Piazza, Smith’s star student. …